Market Data 
Arizona voters will weigh in this fall on a ballot measure that would allow local law enforcement to arrest migrants who illegally cross the southern border if there is “probable cause.”
State lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill that will allow the measure to appear on the November ballot. The bill, known as the Secure the Border Act, passed the Republican-controlled Arizona House by a party-line 31-29 vote.
Arizona will play a key role this election year, as both a battleground state in the presidential race and home to a Senate race that could help determine the balance of power in the US Senate. Immigration has been a central campaign issue for former President Donald Trump and Republicans in the border state and could drive voters to the polls.
If voters approve the measure in November, law enforcement would be enabled to arrest migrants who cross into the US without going through official ports of entry. Judges could order the deportation of those convicted of violating the law.
Under the proposal, a person who enters the US illegally cannot be arrested unless there is “probable cause” – a law enforcement officer has witnessed the violation, there is a recording of the violation or there is “any other constitutionally sufficient” sign of probable cause.
Proponents say the measure would curb illegal immigration and cut down on crime perpetrated by migrants, stepping in where the federal government has failed. Meanwhile, critics argue that the proposal would result in racial profiling and unlawful policing, be costly for the state and strain law enforcement resources.
The proposal is similar to Texas’ controversial immigration law known as SB 4, which has been blocked from going into effect as a legal challenge plays out in court. If Arizona voters approve the ballot measure, the part of the proposal that would allow local law enforcement to make arrests for illegal entry cannot be enforced until the Texas immigration law or another state’s law has been in effect for 60 days.
The Arizona measure would also create criminal offenses for migrants unlawfully in the US who “knowingly” present false documents to receive public benefits or get around the state’s e-verify program. It would increase punishments for fentanyl sales that result in the death of another.
The bill’s final vote in the Arizona legislature fell on the same day that President Joe Biden announced new immigration executive actions that will allow his administration to ban asylum seekers who cross the border illegally.
